


I Am Turian

by Sylvia_Fey



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Adoption, Cross-Species Relationships, Eventual Romance, F/M, First Contact War, Friendship, Gen, Human, Military Training, Multi, Palaven, Training, Training Camp, Turians
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2020-08-10 23:04:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20143468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylvia_Fey/pseuds/Sylvia_Fey
Summary: The First Contact War changed the lives of many, but more so for the Vakarians.Solana Vakarian is always thought of as another Turian, (seriously. -_- I looked this shit up) but what if she wasn't. The only thing we really know about her is that she's Garrus's sister. So, I decided to write a story about my own version of Solana and how she came to be Garrus's sister. Don't judge me too harshly.





	1. First Contact War

They huddled in the closet of their parent's bedroom, listening to the people screaming outside of the house. The aliens had come in force, shooting lasers and fire from with ships as they landed in the middle of downtown. The aliens had spread out from there, taking people back to their ships or just killing them when they fought back. She couldn't understand why they were doing this. Why had they come and why were they taking people? She heard the front doors of the house splinter and shatter, making the child in her arms gasp, burying her face in her sister's chest. 

"Shh. It's alright, Sally. Just be quiet, okay?" her sister, Anna whispered. She held Sally tight, watching through the thin spaces between the blinds of the closet door. Beams of light speared through the darkness of the house, the alien's chatter making the little girl shake in fear as one appeared in the doorway. It shined the light around the room as it stepped in, searching the room. The closer it got to the closet, the more nervous the girls became. The creature stood in front of the closet, looking around before putting its finger to where its ear was, saying something in that strange language before turning for the door. Sally's foot slipped out from under her, kicking the shoes that were piled up and knocking them over. The creature stopped, it's head snapping to the closet as it raised it's gun, moving to the closet doors with caution. "I'm going to attack him, and when I do, I want you to run as fast and as far as you can, alright?" Anna whispered, getting a whimper from Sally.

"But Anna..."

Anna didn't give Sally time to protest as she pushed to her feet, shoving the closet doors open and throwing herself at the alien. The gun went off, hitting her in the stomach as she knocked it to the floor, wrestling with the creature's gun, "RUN SALLY! RUN!" she screamed, gritting her teeth against the pain and the strength of the creature.

Sally stumbled to her feet, running for the door as fast as her little legs could take her. She dodged the creature that stepped in the doorway, scrambling between its legs and down the hallway, sobbing and screaming as it fired at her. 

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Anna screamed, ramming her shoulder into the creature's side after breaking free of the other one. The creature slammed into the wall, knocking down pictures of happy memories before slouching to the floor. She scrambled after her sister, the adrenaline spurring her as the two girls ran from the house and out into the war-torn city. Fires flickered in the rubble, explosions sounded in the distance, people screamed and cried in the streets before being carted away to the ships for interrogation. The girls finally found somewhere that was fairly safe. What used to be a pool hall. Anna panted, leaning on the pool table with her hand against the wound in her stomach.

"Anna," Sally gasped, crying as she looked at her sister.

"It's alright. It's just a scratch," Anna said, stifling the pain as she smiled down at the little girl, "we'll be alright for a little while."

The silence was shattered with an explosion at the front of the building, sending Sally under the table in fear as Anna grabbed a pool stick, ready to beat them off with the flimsy piece of wood.

* * *

"Lieutenant, two humans went into the building across the street. I'll hold position until you get here," the turian said, looking through the scope on his rifle as he watched the door.

"Rodger that. We're on our way," the Lieutenant replied, motioning his men through the streets of the human settlement toward the location. They stood outside the door, waiting for the demolitionist to finish rigging the door before moving back. The blast shattered the doors, giving them an opening as they moved in, "go, go, go!" The soldiers trained their weapons on the human standing with a stick in her hands, looking ready to attack at any moment.

"Sir, I believe it's one of the females," the Sargent said, getting a nod from the lieutenant.

"I think you're right," the lieutenant said, watching as she tried to look at them all at once, "looks like she's a civilian."

"What's it matter? We'll take her in with the others we found," one of the soldiers growled, taking a step toward her.

Anna raised the stick, narrowing her eyes at the alien as sweat dripped down her temple.

"Easy, soldier. She's not wearing the same uniform as the forces we've faced," the lieutenant said, putting his hand on the soldier's shoulder, "we aren't here to harm civilians."

"Lieutenant," the Sargent said, nodding at her, "she's wounded."

The lieutenant looked at her stomach, raising his light to see the damage before grimacing, "a wound like that, I'm amazed she's survived. Looks like she took a few rounds in the stomach."

"Why would she risk that kind of injury to hide here?" one of the younger turians asked.

A bottle shifting under the table, bringing their aim to a small human who looked terrified. The female moved to stand between them and the smaller human, looking furious and ready to fight.

"She's protecting her child," the lieutenant breathed, putting his hand on the gun of the soldier next to him, "stand down."

"Sir..." the younger turian said, nodding at the female as she panted, her eyes closed for a second, her face contorting in pain.

"She's going to be dead before too long," the Sargent said, letting the rifle drop to his side.

The lieutenant watched her for a few moments, glancing at the child as it said something in a tiny voice to the female. He gave a nod, looking back at the medic in the group, "give me some medi-gel."

* * *

"What are they doing?" Sally asked, shivering from fear as the aliens talked to one another in a strange language.

Anna swallowed, wincing at the pain in her stomach as she looked at them through the painful haze, "I... I don't... know," she panted, watching the aliens hand something off before the one at the head of the group stepped forward. She took a baseball hitting stance, sneering at the creature, "don't even try it!"

The alien put it's hands up as if to say "take it easy" as it lowered the gun in its hands to the ground, tossing it away from it.

Anna blinked, confused at the gesture but not trusting it as it stood, staying slightly hunched to look less intimidating, "what do you want?" she asked, surprised as it held out a small vile that looked similar to an EpiPen.

It motioned her forward, holding the pen out in an open hand, offering it to her.

* * *

"You're going to waste our medi gel on this human?" the soldier growled, angry that his lieutenant would waste supplies on a creature that was dying anyway.

"They didn't ask for this war and I'm not going to just leave her here with the child without a fighting chance," the lieutenant growled back, lowering himself slightly as he moved forward half a step. The female lifted the stick again, looking afraid and angry at the same time. He put his hand up, "easy. I want to give this to you. It'll help."

The female scowled at him.

"I don't think they understand, lieutenant," the Sargent said, kneeling to look at the child. He gave the child a small wave, trying to be friendly and getting a sob in reply. "Guess I'm not very good with the little humans, huh?"

"They're just scared," The lieutenant said, trying to motion the female, forward.

"Lieutenant, if you can get close enough, you might be able to scan her and temporarily allow her to understand us. At least, long enough to get some information," the younger turian said, opening his Omni tool and tapping a few buttons.

* * *

"I think he wants you to take it," Sally said, watching the alien that had knelt and waved at her, "I think they want to help us."

Anna snorted, "our its poison and they're trying to kill us," she growled, shaking her head, doing the motions as she spoke, "I'm. Not. Taking. That. Until you. Try it. First." The alien seemed to understand and gave a nod, pulling another one from its utility belt and jamming it in its arm. She waited, watching for any signs that it was a trap before taking a deep breath, lowering the pool stick to her side. 

"See? They want to help," Sally said, crawling out from under the table and hiding behind Anna.

Anna frowned, "I don't trust it," she said, wincing as Sally tugged on her shirt, straining the holes in her stomach.

The alien moved forward a little too fast, bringing the stick back up for a fight. It stopped, holding the pen out forcefully toward her before motioning to her stomach as it spoke in that weird language.

Anna sighed, lowering the stick as she put her hand to her stomach, closing her eyes against the throbbing. She gave a nod, reaching out with a pale shaking hand, her fingers closing around the pen before his hand closed around her's, holding her tight. "LET GO!" she screamed, struggling against the alien as Sally scrambled back under the table, crying and screaming. An orange light appeared around his arm holding her in place. He tapped a few keys, sending out a line of white light that scanned over her, sending her into more of a panic. "LET GO!"

* * *

The soldiers lifted their guns, ready to take out the female as the lieutenant glared over his shoulder at them.

"Stand down!" the lieutenant growled, tapping a few keys on his Omni tool before releasing the female. 

She swung the stick at him as he brought his arm up, blocking the attack and shattering the stick before she stumbled back against the pool table, "what the fuck did you do to me!" she demanded, her voice pained and gasping.

"I scanned you so we can understand one another," the lieutenant said, watching her eyes widen in shock.

"You... you can talk... normal?" she asked, looking confused.

"No, but my Omni tool allows us to learn and understand other languages," he explained, getting a slow nod from the woman as she winced, her hand going to her stomach, "that's a nasty wound."

She looked up at him, anger and hate flickering in her eyes, "your people did this to me."

He nodded, "I understand you're scared, but we're only here to keep your people from turning on Mass relay 314."

Anna furrowed her brows at him, "you attacked us because some scientists were turning on an artifact? Are you serious?" she asked, her voice a growl, "those people are thousands of miles away from here. In D.C. or NASA, or somewhere in Area 51 in the desert," she winced, sliding down the side of the table with her eyes closed.

"Where exactly are these scientists you're talking about?" the lieutenant asked, pulling a vile of medi gel from his belt, the other one having fallen away in the rubble.

Anna coughed out a laugh and shook her head, "I just work as a waitress in a cafe to take care of my sister. I don't know... anything."

The lieutenant looked at the child as she crawled out from under the table, half hiding behind the female and half looking at her, "your... sister..."

Anna nodded, "I've been taking care of her since our mother left and our father drank himself to death," she paused, swallowing as she closed her eyes against another wave of pain, "we had a brother but... he overdosed on Heroine."

"And now your world is being invaded by us," he said, watching the light start to fade from her eyes. He sighed, taking his pistol from his back and holding it for her to see, "I can't do anything for you except end it quickly. Even medi gel won't be able to help you now... I'm sorry."

Anna swallowed, looking at Sally as the little girl looked back at her with wide, scared blue eyes. She put her hand on the little girl's head, painting her blonde curls red with her blood, "I'm just... going to close my eyes for a moment... okay Sally? I'll wake up in a bit."

Sally shook her head, gripping her sister's shirt, "no. You can't go to sleep. It's not safe here."

Anna smiled at her, "it's fine, Sally. The alien said he'd take care of you," she said, looking at the lieutenant with a smirk, "that's what you can do for me. You can take care of my sister for me."

The lieutenant shook his head, "I don't know the first thing about taking care of a human child."

Anna coughed out a laugh, letting her head fall back against the table with her eyes closed, "I'm not giving you a choice, alien scum."

Sally sobbed, "Anna...."

Anna sighed, "everything's going to be okay. I'll be here," she said, putting her finger against the little girl's chest, "always." Her eyelids got heavy, closing as her head fell slightly to the side and she breathed out her last breath.

Sally stared at Anna for a few moments, sniffling and wiping her nose, "Anna... Anna...." she sobbed, shaking her sister, "wake up, Anna. We have to go." The little girl shook her more frantically, crying and sobbing, "Anna! Anna, wake up! Please wake up! Don't leave me, Anna! You promised you wouldn't leave like mama! ANNA!" She lay over her sister's lap, crying into the dead woman's thigh as she groaned, "Anna."

The lieutenant scanned the little girl, his men shifting where they stood, the sadness coming from the little girl breaking their hearts as it echoed through the rubble of the city. He moved forward, kneeling next to the little girl as she gripped the woman's pants leg. "Come little one. We'll take you somewhere safe."

Sally sniffled, looking up at the turian with the biggest blue eyes he had ever seen. Tear lines made paths in the dirt on her cheeks, her blonde hair sticking to her cheeks and forehead. She sniffled again, raising her arms toward him.

He blinked in surprise before sighing, lifting the little girl from the rubble and starting for the door, "we're done here. Gather whatever supplies you find and take them back to the ship.

"But sir. You can't be serious about taking the child?" the soldier said, catching up to walk beside the lieutenant.

"She's coming with us and that's final," the lieutenant said, adjusting the little girl on his hip as he glared at the soldier, "end of discussion."

The soldier huffed, stalking back to the building and helping the other search the rubble.

He looked at the little girl as she lay her head against his shoulder. He put his hand against the back of her head, trying to give the small creature as much comfort as he could before heading back to the shuttle.

* * *

He sighed as he sat back in his chair, running his hand over his crest, "she has no one else, Lacidia. Her sister was taking care of her and was severely injured. She died right in front of the kid."

The female turian sighed, looking back at him with sad blue eyes, "Castis, we don't know the first thing about taking care of a human, let alone a child. Maybe it would be best for her to leave her with her own kind."

Castis looked at the sleeping human child curled up on his bed, sleeping the day's trauma away, "I... I promised I would take care of her," he said, looking back at the female as she huffed at him.

"Castis..." she growled, folding her arms over her chest.

"You should see her, my love. She's so small and helpless. The humans are too busy fighting back to take proper care of her," Castis said, giving the woman pleading eyes, "I'll do some research and find out how to take care of her. You needn't worry."

"What about the radiation, Castis? Human's couldn't survive on Palaven without some form of protection from the radiation," Lucidia pointed out.

"I'll take care of that too," he said, smiling at her, "all you have to do is be her mother, my love."

Lucidia sighed, "alright. We'll adopt her."

"Have I told you how much I love you?" he asked, getting a giggle from the woman.

"When you come back home, you can show me," she said, making him chuckle, "I'll talk to you later."

"Until later," he said, disconnecting the vid call. He stood moving to the edge of the bed and watching the child sleep. She looked so peaceful, despite all that had happened to her. He sat on the edge of the bed, studying her as he gently stroked her hair. _Humans are so soft yet so resilient,_ he thought, twirling some of her hair around his finger, _she's so small._ Anna's face flashed through his mind, the look of pure anger and fear coupled with a determination to protect her sister. He swallowed, laying his hand on the little girl's shoulder as she slept. "I'll keep you safe, little one. I promise."


	2. Being a Parent;Day 1

The little girl stirred in the bed, whimpering and sobbing as she slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep and tears from her eyes. She sniffled, blinking at the room she was in, "Anna?" she called into the empty room. The doors slid open, startling her as she scuttled back against the wall, tucking her legs up into her chest as she watched the Turian walk to the desk, tapping on the surface to bring up an orange screen with a sigh.

He glanced at the little girl, giving her some form of a smile, "you're awake. Did you sleep well?"

The little girl sniffled, nodding her head but not saying anything. 

"That's good," he said, staring at her for a few seconds before sitting back in his chair, "how old are you, little one?"

She sniffled, "five."

He gave her a slow nod, "it must be scary for you. This war," he said, tilting his head as she shook her's, "you're not frightened?"

She shook her head again, "Anna will protect me," she said, sounding confident and sure.

He let out a sad sigh, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked at the orange screen, "I..." he paused, not sure how to tell a child that her family was gone. 

"She'll come get me," the little girl said, completely in denial of what she had seen happen to her sister.

He watched the little girl for a few moments, swallowing at the surety in her big blue eyes. He finally sighed and stood, "are you hungry?"

Sally nodded, wiping her nose on the back of her hand.

"Come on then. We'll go find something for you to eat," he said, holding his hand out to her.

She slid off the bed and shuffled to him, putting her little hand in his.

He couldn't help but smile as the simplicity of it and how small she was as he led the little human from his room and out into the hallway. Turians hurried past them, looking over the readings from this module or that interface, almost completely ignoring them as they walked through the halls. She blinked at the commotion. The strange aliens and devices intriguing her child's curiosity. She almost gave herself whiplash trying to see everything as they passed. She blinked at the elevator as he pushed a green button on the panel beside the doors, stepping off to the side as the doors opened and a few turians stepped off. She hid behind his leg, watching the turians as they paused, noticing her before she could hide.

"Castis, is that the human child you brought aboard?" one of the turians asked, glaring down at her.

Castis stepped more in the way, meeting the other with his own hard stare, "yes it is, Saren. If you have a problem with that, take it up with the General. He's the one that allowed it."

Saren stepped forward, glaring into Castis's eyes as he sneered at the smaller Turian, "I just might."

They stood glaring at one another for a few moments before someone cleared their throat, "you're expected on the observation deck, Captain Arterius."

Saren glanced at the soldier, glaring at the turian before looking back at Castis, "it would seem so. You and your pet are in my way."

Castis snorted, "there's enough room to go around."

Saren bumped his shoulder against Castis's as he moved past them, glaring at Sally as he passed her before moving down the hallway.

Castis let out a sigh, shaking his head as he looked down at the child, "don't worry about him. Saren's all talk," he said, giving her a reassuring pat on the head.

"He's all talk now until he becomes a Spectre," one of the turians muttered, folding his arms over his chest. 

"What've you heard, Sparatus?" Castis asked, frowning at the thought of Saren as a Spectre.

"Only that Saren's up for being a Spectre for his work during this war," Sparatus said with a shrug, "that's all I heard and know."

"Frankly, I hope he doesn't get it," the other turian said, looking annoyed at the concept, "we've already got enough blood on our hands without adding to it. We've already suffered enough deaths on both sides without adding to it."

"Adrien," Castis mumbled, clearing his throat, nodding slightly down at the little girl as she blinked up at them in both awe and fear.

"Right..." the turian said, clearing his throat, "I just hope we can end this peacefully in the end, is all."

"I agree," Castis said, giving the other turian a nod.

Sally tugged on Castis's hand, shuffling her feet as she danced from one foot to the other.

He leaned down, tilting her head, "yes?"

"I have to go potty," she whispered, feeling embarrassed.

Castis blinked at her, standing straight, "uh... how do you... never mind. I'll take you to the bathroom and you can... do whatever it is humans do to relieve themselves."

Sally nodded, following him as he moved quickly to the bathrooms. He paused at the women's restroom, thinking for half a second of letting her go in there alone before shaking his head, leading her into the men's.

Sally blinked at the bathroom urinals, wrinkling her nose at the smell. "Eww," she complained, pinching her nose, "it smells bad."

"This is a warship, not a luxury cruiser. Bathrooms are meant to do your business and that's it," he said, his tone slightly harsher than he meant it to be. 

Sally shook her head, "it smells bad," she said, getting a sigh from the turian, "and I'm a girl."

He gave a frustrated growl, leaving the men's bathroom and hesitating outside the women's. He took a deep breath and had his hand on the door when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Lieutenant Vakarian, I hope you're not being a pervert and trying to sneak a peek at the women of this vessel," the female turian said, folding her arms over her chest with a smirk.

"Captain Domintus... No! I wasn't honest. I just... well...," he stuttered, motioning to the child and raising her hand slightly, "she said she has to use the bathroom and the men's room smells bad. Apparently."

The captain looked down at Sally, giving the little girl smiling eyes as she gently took the child's hand, "I'll take her in with me so you don't get to use her as an excuse, Vakarian."

Castis huffed at her, narrowing his eyes in a glare as she led Sally into the bathroom.

* * *

He paced back and forth in front of the bathroom, feeling like a nervous father as he waited for the woman to bring the little girl back out. He stopped where he stood, rushing to the door as the female stepped out... without the little girl. "Where is she, Vana?" he asked, leaning around the woman to look in the bathroom.

She put her hand on his chest, pushing him back a step, "take it easy, Castis. She just had a little accident and needs a change of clothes. If you could go get an extra set of clothes for her, that would be nice."

Castis let out a relieved sigh, moving to the elevators to head down to storage, "she had an accident," he muttered, leaning against the wall of the elevator before the doors slid open, "an accident," he mumbled, again, going to the requisitions officer, "I need a very, very small set of clothes."

The requisitions officer gave him a confused blink before looking through the storage. He came back with a small pile of clothes and handed them to Castis, "these are the smallest set we have, but they're for a female."

"They're for a female anyway," Castis said, giving the man a nod, "thanks." He hurried back into the elevator, slapping the button to the next floor as he paced in the elevator. _Is this what it's like to be a father,_ he thought, chuckling, "guess I wasn't ready for this." He stepped off the elevator as the female came out of the bathroom, carrying the little human with a towel around the little one. 

"Do you feel better sweetie?" Vana asked, smiling at the little girl. 

Sally nodded, blinking at Castis from under the towel, "I had a bath."

Castis chuckled, ruffling the little girl's hair under the towel, making her giggle.

"Something funny over here, lieutenant. Captain?" another Turian appeared, looking at them with narrowed eyes.

"General," the two said, standing at attention, Vana as well as she could with a child on her hip.

"At ease," the general said, looking at Sally, "now, what's so funny?"

Sally buried her face in Vana's shoulder, peeking at the turian from around the woman's chin. 

"Oh, don't be shy, little one. You're safe as long as you're on my ship," the general said, tilting his head as he gave the little girl gentle smiling eyes.

Sally blinked at him as she slowly lifted her head, the towel falling from her head to bunch around her shoulders. 

"What's your name, little one?" the general asked.

"Sally," the little girl mumbled, making the older turian chuckle.

"Hmm..." the general hummed, looking at her with narrowed eyes, "that's not a very turian name and, if you're going to be raised turian, you're going to need a new name. Don't you agree, Lieutenant?"

Castis cleared his throat, "I... think she's a little old to get a new name."

"Nonsense," the general said, waving away his concern, "new life, new name. When this war is over, she will pave the way for both our races. A human raised by Turians. The council's heads will roll."

Vana huffed, "no offense, sir, but I don't think we should put so much pressure on a child, let alone a child from a species we know nothing about."

The little girl frowned at the general as he waved away Vana's concern, "I like my name," she screeched, folding her arms over her tiny chest in a huff, "you head is stupid."

The general blinked at her, surprised at the tiny creature before letting loose a loud laugh, "she's got guts. She'll make a fine soldier when she's older."

Sally snorted, glaring at the old turian, "I'm going to be a princess, stupid."

The general chuckled, "sure you are, kid. Good luck with that." The general left them, chuckling to himself as he headed for the elevator.

* * *

Vana helped get Sally in the clothes, making the little girl giggle as her head popped out of the collar, "there she is!"

Sally giggled, flapping the arms as she ran around the women's bathroom. 

"Honey, don't run," Vana said, trying to catch the little girl.

Sally giggled, running past another female that came into the bathroom and out into the hallway.

"Sally!" Vana called, chasing after the little girl. 

She ducked under Castis's arms, giggling as he chased after her as well. 

"Damn it. Come back here!" Castis called, growling in frustration as the little girl ran through the crew's quarters, crawling under tables and running around the counter of the cooking station.

The turian at the stove hopped away from it, frowning at Castis and Vana as they tried to catch Sally. 

"Sorry, Casus," Vana said, giving him an apologetic look as Castis tried to grab hold of the little girl before she disappeared around a corner. 

Sally gave a squeal as Adrien snagged her, lifting the little girl over his shoulder as he growled.

Vana and Castis let out a breath of relief, giving the man smiles as he tickled the little girl's feet, making her kick as she squealed and giggled.

"I have a son at home whos just as rambunctious," Adrien said, handing the little girl back to Castis, "just be glad she didn't run into Saren. Spirits only know what he would do to her." Sally giggled as Adrien brushed some hair away from her cheek, smiling at the little girl. 

"You are aware that humans can't eat most foods that we can, right?" Sparatus said, taking a datapad from a younger turian that looked fresh out of the academy, "I had my assistant, Quentius here, look up whatever data we had on humans and their diets. We don't have much data but there are some foods that she would be able to eat without getting sick or dying."

Quentius looked at the little girl, giving her a strained smile, unsure about the small human, "there are at least five or six dishes that would be fine for her to eat, from what I uncovered."

"You look like a Christmas tree," Sally giggled, getting a confused blink from Quentius.

"Uh... thank you?" Quentius said, looking at Castis as the other turian shrugged and Vana cleared her throat to cover her chuckle.

"Send me the list of items she can eat and I'll ask Casus to make her something," Castis said, bringing up his Omni tool.

Sally blinked at the orange screen, putting her finger out and cautiously poking at the screen, blinking in surprise when her finger hit a solid surface. 

"Alright. It's sent," Quentius said, closing his Omni tool as he looked at the little girl, "I uh... I hope it works out."

Sally smiled at Quentius, "thank you, Chris."

Quentius blinked at her before his left eye twitched, "Quentius."

Sally frowned, "I like Chris better," she muttered, getting a glare from the turian as the others chuckled.

"Just humor her, Chris," Sparatus said, clapping the man on the shoulder as the younger turian sighed.

"Come on, Sally. Let's go see if Casus will make you something to eat," Castis said, adjusting her on his hip.

"I want pancakes and mac and cheese," Sally said, kicking her feet happily as they went into the mess hall.

"We don't know what those are," Castis said, getting a snort from the child.

"But it's the yummiest," Sally said, looking a little sad.

Castis put her on a chair, pushing it in as Vana sat next to her.

"I'll keep her in her seat while you talk to Casus," Vana said, smiling as Adrien put a datapad in front of the child. 

Sally blinked at the screen, poking at it and giggling as it made beeping noises. 

"Let's see if you can match the data segments," Adrien said, setting up a link between the datapad and his Omni tool, "if you can do it in time, my Omni tool with beep a song. If not you'll have to restart. The levels will get more and more difficult as..." he paused when his Omni tool lit up, playing a random beeping tune as Sally giggled. 

"She's smart," Vana said, watching as the little girl quickly tapped through the levels, the tones starting to overlap into one long high pitched note.

"Alright, that's enough," Adrien said, unlinking the Omni tool before it drove the rest of the crew insane.

"Why don't we try something else?" Vana said, tapping through the datapad and setting it down in front of Sally, "I want you to read this out loud word for word."

Sally stared at the strange language, furrowing her brows before shaking her head, "I can't read. I'm supposed to go to kindergarten next year," she said, kicking her feet as she looked around the crew lounge area, "where are we?"

"Mess area of the Crew deck," Sparatus said, looking through his datapad, "Quentius, I'm going to need those reports sent to my Omni tool for review."

"Of course, commander," Quentius said, tapping through his Omni tool. 

Castis set a plate down in front of Sally, watching her frown at it and wrinkle her nose.

"Eww. It looks like worms," she complained.

"It's not worms. You'll like it," Castis reassured her, getting a pout from the child.

"Nuh-uh," she grumbled.

"Come on, sweetie. Just try a bite," Vana offered, taking a scoop of the food and holding it out toward her, "say ah."

"No," Sally said, being stubborn.

"Just one little bite," Vana said, trying to get her to eat.

"Mmmmm," Sally said, shaking her head.

Vana narrowed her eyes at Sally before giving a nod, "alright well, if you don't eat, then I'll just have to eat you instead," she said, running her tongue around her mouth.

Sally's eyes widened before she dug into the food, stuffing as much into her mouth as quickly as she could.

"Woah, woah, woah. Slow down or you'll choke," Castis said, gently tugging the plate away from her.

"Was that really necessary, Domintus?" Adrien asked, giving the female narrowed eyes.

Vana shrugged, "it works for my children."

Adrien rolled his eyes and shook his head, watching the little girl as she finished her food, "considering she was probably scared of you, to begin with, I don't think that was a good idea."

Vana shrugged, smiling as Sally finished her meal, "was that so hard?"

Sally swallowed the last bite, nodding her head as the woman chuckled, "can I play more games please?"

"Games?" Adrien asked, sliding the datapad back in front of her, "try this one. You have to link the same symbols together within the time limit to win."

Sally tapped the symbols, quickly linking the two together before it blinked, signaling that she had finished it.

"Not bad. You're a quick learner," Adrien said, tapping on his Omni tool.

"We'll have to get her an Omni tool. Perhaps when she's older," Castis said, leaning on the chair as he watched her quickly figure out the next set of symbols.

"The platoons on the ground have gone to the locations that the human female had mentioned to you, Vakarian," Sparatus said, looking at his Omni tool, "they found some scientists but no real evidence stating that they know anything. They have a couple of scientists in interrogation."

"Good. Hopefully, they'll give us the information we need and we can leave this planet," Adrien muttered, folding his arms over his chest.

Sally yawned, rubbing her eyes as she absently tapped on the datapad.

"I think she's getting tired, Castis," Vana said, getting a sigh from the man.

"She just woke up a few hours ago," Castis complained, pulling Sally's chair out from the table.

"Well, maybe human children need more naps and sleep than adults," Quentius said, glaring at the screen of his datapad.

"I'm not sleepy," Sally complained, yawning as Castis picked her up.

"Perhaps we should allow the doctor to perform a medical exam on the child just to be on the safe side," Sparatus said, getting to his feet with a groan, "Spirits I'm starting to get old."

"That would be a good idea," Vana said, giving the little girl smiling eyes.

"And we should be sure that she isn't carrying any diseases that could compromise the stability of the crew and ship," Quentius said, glancing up at the annoyed glares Castis and Vana were giving him, "what? It's true," he closed his Omni tool as he motioned to the child, "we don't know much about humans. They could carry diseases that we haven't fully documented yet. That child could be carrying bacteria that could kill us and you're just letting it walk around."

"This child could help us understand humans," Castis said, shifting Sally away from the group with a growl.

"Then it should be in a cell being studied," Sparatus said, agreeing with Quentius.

"She's a child!" Vana exclaimed.

"She's a liability!" Sparatus shouted back.

Sally whimpered, burying her face against Castis's neck as he glared at the two, patting her back.

"I promised to take care of her and I refuse to go back on that promise," Castis said, looking at the child as she lifted her head to look at him, her big eyes wide with fear, "I will have the doctor look at her to make sure she's not contagious or contaminated by anything that could potentially harm us, but I will _NOT_ allow her to get hurt."

Sparatus nodded, "that seems acceptable," he said, tapping on the datapad, "Quentius will go with you since it's a major concern for him."

Quentius's eyes went wide as his mandibles dropping a couple inches in surprise, "me?"

Sparatus looked at him, lowering the datapad to his side, "you are the one that has a problem with the human child. So, who better to make sure she gets a proper examination than you?"

Quentius started to say something before snapping his mouth shut, "yes sir."


	3. Examination Gone Wrong

Sally kicked her feet as she sat on the edge of the examination table, watching the turian doctor as he read over the datapad, humming in thought before turning to look at the little girl. Vana stood on one side as Castis stood on the other, like bodyguards. Quentius leaned against the wall near the door, watching the small group with narrowed, suspicious eyes.

"So... this is a human child," the turian said, standing in front of the child as his visor scanned her for readings. She tilted her head, blinking up at him with big blue eyes as she looked at his violet markings. His expression softened for a second before he cleared his throat, "cute."

"You're pretty," she said, smiling at him.

His eyes widened for a second before he shook his head, "alright, let's get started with a few simple questions."

"Why do you have three fingers?" Sally asked, getting a chuckle from Vana and Castis.

"I think Tarnivus meant he was going to ask the questions," Vana said with a smile.

"Ooooh," Sally said, grinning, "kay!"

"How old are you?" Tarnivus asked, tapping on the datapad.

"Five," she said, kicking her feet, "how old are you?"

"Much older than your father," he said absently.

"You're old," she said, getting a chuckle from the doctor.

"That I am. Now, do you have any family?" Tarnivus asked, getting a head shake from Castis.

"Her sister was the last remaining of her family and she..." Castis paused, swallowing as he looked at Sally.

"I see..." Tarnivus muttered, tapping on the datapad before nodding, "alright. Now I'm going to need samples of her blood to run some tests to make sure she's not carrying any dangerous viruses." He moved to a table, lifting a fairly large needle from the tray before turning toward Sally.

Sally scowled at the turian and shook her head, "no! No needles!" she screeched, clumsily sliding off the examination table and starting to run for the door, "no needles!"

Castis caught her, scooping her up and holding her as she struggled against his arms.

"Noooooooooo," she whined.

"Don't you have any smaller needles, Tarn?" Vana asked, looking worriedly at the girl.

Tarnivus sighed, putting the needle back down on the tray, "perhaps one of the human prisoners have a medical kit."

Castis nodded, looking at Quentius, "go find out if one of the humans are a doctor and if they have medical kits."

Quentius sighed, shuffling out of the room as he grumbled.

"There, see? No big needles," Vana reassured Sally, getting a frown from the little girl.

"No needles," Sally repeated with a pout.

* * *

Tarnivus tapped on his datapad as Sally wrapped bandages around his leg and foot, giggling as he wiggled his toes, loosening the bandages. He looked past the datapad at the human child, smiling as she unwrapped and rewrapped his foot. Castis has been called to the command deck for a briefing and Vana was on the next shuttle down to the planet's surface to gather information and reconnaissance, leaving the child with Tarnivus in the clinic. He sighed, finishing the reports on the health of the crew and cargo, before setting the datapad aside. He studied the child at his feet, watching the way her face stretched and changed with her giggles and frowns. _Humans are very expressive creatures,_ he thought, curling his toes as she tried to wrap them, making her frown in annoyance. She pulled his toes straight, giving them a glare before starting to wrap them again. He curled his toes, making her huff as she straightened them again.

"Stay," she ordered, trying to be quick about wrapping them up.

He chuckled as he curled them again, watching the child get frustrated before huffing and deciding to wrap his toes curled up against his foot. He lifted his attention to the doors as they slid open and a youngish looking human male stumbled into the clinic. Tarnivus watched the human as his panicked gaze shot around the room before settling on the child at the turian's feet. 

Sally smiled at the man, her hand tangled in the bandages around the turian's foot, "hi!"

The man's eyes looked at Tarnivus, the older turian's eyes narrowing as he watched the human calculate his odds. He shifted in his seat, sitting on the edge of his seat as the child huffed at him moving.

"I'm not done," she complained, looking up at Tarnivus with frustrated eyes.

"We want you to examine the child," Tarnivus said, getting to his feet and picking Sally up, stringing bandages across the clinic as she waved them like a ribbon.

"We are concerned that she may be carrying a disease that could kill us," Quentius said, giving the man a shove forward, "examine her."

"What do you want from me? She's a child!" the man almost shouted at the turians.

"He doesn't understand. I didn't have time to scan him before he started throwing punches," Quentius said, glaring at the human.

"The doctor thinks I'm sick and want you to check," Sally translated as best a child could.

The human looked at the child with a mixture of confusion, anger, and fear, "they... Why would I do that? If you are sick, you could wipe these bastards out," the man shook his head, "no! I won't do it!"

Sally blinked at him, looking confused, "why?"

"Because they're the enemy!" the man shouted, scaring her.

Tarnivus narrowed his eyes at the man, putting his hand on the little girl's shoulder. He brought his Omni tool up, scanning the human male before closing the tool, "you raise your voice at her again, and you'll be the one in need of an examination."

The human's eyes went wide as he stumbled back a step, "you... what did you do to me?!"

"Settle down, human. We're not going to eat you... yet," Quentius growled, lowering his mandibles as he gave the man a hungry grin.

"What do you want from me?" the man gasped, his wide eyes showing his panic.

"We want you to examine this child," Tarnivus repeated, sounding annoyed.

"Examine... I'm not a doctor. I don't know the first thing about medicine," the man said, shaking his head before his eyes narrowed in a glare, "and even if I was, I wouldn't help you, invaders, to save that kid's life."

"Fair enough," Quentius said, shooting the man in the head, spraying brains, blood, and bone all over the clinic. 

Sally gasped, the initial shock of seeing someone's head explode startling her before she started screaming and crying.

Tarnivus heaved a heavy sigh, glaring at Quentius as he hugged the child, "was that really necessary?"

Quentius shrugged, "he said he wouldn't."

"You made a mess in my clinic and she won't stop screaming," Tarnivus growled, picking the child up, "you made the mess. You clean it up. I'm going to see if Castis can calm her down."

Quentius let out a sigh, looking at the blood and human brains on the ceiling and floor, "I might not have thought this through."

* * *

Tarnivus tried calming her down as best he could, wincing as she screamed, a high pitched squeal that almost brought him to his knees, "Spirits!"

"What's going on? What is that?" One of the turian soldiers shouted over her screams, holding himself up against the wall, "what's it doing?"

"Quentius killed someone in front of her," Tarnivus shouted back, gritting his teeth as she screamed again, "spirits child. Please stop."

"My brain's going to explode," another soldier shouted, covering the sides of his head.

"What's going on?" Adrien asked, coming around a corner and wincing as she let loose another high pitched scream, "hey, now. There's no need for that." He held his hands out, gently taking the little girl from Tarnivus, who panted as he leaned against the wall. He clicked his mandibles, slowing her crying and stopping the screams as she sniffled.

"Thank the spirits," one of the soldiers said, sliding down the wall to the floor, "What the hell was that?"

"Some sort of defense mechanism?" the other soldier gasped, trying to shake the ringing from his brain.

"What happened?" Adrien asked, glancing at Tarnivus for answers.

"Quentius brought a human to the clinic to check the girl but he wasn't a doctor and Quentius killed in front of her," Tarnivus explained, standing straight. 

"I see," Adrien said, clicking his mandibles again as he looked at the child, "well, we're just going to have to do something to make you forget, aren't we?"

Sally sniffled, rubbing her eyes as she sobbed, "I wanna go home," she whined.

"You can't go home. There is no home for you to go back to," Adrien said, shifting her in his arms as he started for the elevator, "why don't you help me with my rounds? That'll take your mind off of what happened."

Sally sniffled, "I wanna go home."

"This is your home now," Adrien said, stepping onto the elevator and pushing the button for the next floor.

"I WANNA GO HOME!" she screamed, making him wince.

"And I already told you, there is no home for you to go back to," Adrien growled, starting to lose his patience with the child.

"I want Anna! I want my sister!" she cried, struggling in his arms.

His grip tightened around her, "she's dead! Your family is dead and your world is in shambles," he growled, his sharp teeth flashing in his anger.

She sobbed, screaming and crying as she wriggled free of his grip, running out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened.

"Damn it!" Adrien growled, chasing after the girl before losing her among the cargo, "kid, come back!"

* * *

Sally sniffled as she pulled her legs up into her chest, sobbing into her knees as she hid in one of the boxes. "I wanna go home," she groaned, hugging her knees as the memories of Anna fighting off the aliens and finally falling asleep hit her. She sobbed, nuzzling her knees, "Anna."

"Who's there? Show yourself!" a voice called, startling her. 

She sniffled, slowly crawling out from behind the creates to stand in the blinding light from his gun.

He stared at her, stunned at seeing a small human among the cargo before lowering his gun. _This must be the human child Victus was telling me to keep an eye out for,_ he thought, putting the gun away, _I don't even know how to handle a child, let alone a human one._ He cleared his throat, slowly moving toward the child with his hand up, "okay... little... human... child..." he paused, glancing over his shoulder toward the elevators. He had watched Victus search around the crates, frantically looking for something before huffing and stalking back to the elevators after telling him that the cargo hold was a mess and to keep an eye out for a tiny human.

She gave a hiccuping sob, rubbing her eyes as she started to cry again, "my sister died," she sobbed, breaking into a full out cry, "Anna died!"

He gave the child a helpless, desperate look, "oh no... don't do that," he said, looking around for something to distract her from making that horrible wailing sound, "uh... are you hungry? Do you want... uh..." he spotting the stuffed creature he had gotten from one of the soldiers when they had returned from reconnaissance. The soldiers had joked about it being his new girlfriend, but he had grown a slight attachment to the strange soft thing. He hurried to the stuffed thing, heading back toward the little human and holding it up, "hey, see? It's... uh..." he looked at the ridiculous thing before letting out a sigh, "lieutenant... tickle... face...."

Sally sniffled, blinking at the stuffed bear with wide eyes. She shuffled forward, reaching out to take the stuffed bear as he held it out as far away from him as he could, as if he were afraid of her or that she was sick. She hugged the teddy bear, nuzzling the stuffed animal as she sniffled. 

He let out a relieved sigh, frowning as she started to sob again, "oh Spirits help me. What's it going to take to get you to stop making that noise?"

Sally sobbed, rubbing her eyes, "I wanna go home."

He stared at her for a few seconds, this small creature that made pitiful sounds and looked so helpless and alone on a ship full of enemies to her kind. He sighed, moving forward to kneel in front of her, her big blue eyes startling him for a second before he cleared his throat, reaching out to brush the tear trails from her cheeks. "Me too, kid." 

She sniffled, moving forward to hug him, making him stiffen at the sudden contact. He looked down at the child, letting out a slow sigh before carefully putting his arms around her, hugging her back. He tightened his hug slightly, laying his head on the child's, _She's so small and soft. _He sighed, picking her up and carrying her to the elevators, "Sargent Victus was looking for you earlier. He looked worried about you."

She sniffled, laying her head against his should, her forehead against his neck, as she closed her eyes. She hugged the teddybear tight, wariness starting to take its toll on the little human. By the time he stepped off the elevator onto the command deck, she was already sound asleep, curled in his arms with the teddybear. 

He looked around the deck, finally spotting the Sargent on the other side of the galaxy map, looking at the screen of one of the navigations computers as a recruit tapped on the keyboard, adjusting the engine power. He cleared his throat, standing at attention and giving the Sergent a salute, "Sir! I uh... I found her."

Adrien let out a relieved sigh, "good job, Corinthus. We don't need her running around the cargo hold, getting into things, like a pyjak. Lieutenant Vakarian is in the cockpit. She belongs to him," Adrien said, frowning at the datapad he was handed, "this doesn't look good."

Corinthus nodded, adjusting the child in his arms before heading for the cockpit. He stood at attention, giving the lieutenant a salute, "Sir! I believe this is yours."

Castis glanced at the soldier, sighing as he shut down the datapad in his hand and set it in one of the chairs, "was that her screaming earlier?"

Corinthus nodded, "I think so."

Castis nodding, gently taking the sleeping child from Corinthus and setting her down on one of the chairs, "get me a blanket, would you recruit?"

Corinthus nodded, heading for the cargo hold.

Sally curled up in the chair, laying her head on the armrest as she snored quietly, the teddy bear clutched to her small chest. Castis watched her sleep, brushing her hair away from her face before Corinthus returned with a blanket. "Thank you, recruit. Dismissed." He draped the blanket over the little girl, before going back to reviewing the reports from the planet's surface. 


	4. New Life, New Name

Sally giggled at Corinthus wiggling the teddy bear, as a couple of the turian soldiers beat on one another, practicing their hand to hand while they waited for the reports to come in from Shanxi about the truce. One got the other in a headlock, turning his body to put more pressure on the other's neck before the captain refereeing called it. 

"Recruit Zarix is the winner," the captain declared, getting a round of cheers and jeers.

Sally clapped happily as she giggled, not knowing what they were all cheering for but wanting to be a part of the group. She kicked her feet happily as Corinthus gave her back the bear, leaning on the counter she sat on as the next round began.

"Lieutenant Castis versus Captain Varick," the captain said, motioning to each turian before stepping away from the center.

The two squared off, narrowing their eyes at one another before rushing forward, meeting in the middle of the cleared ring. Castis swept his leg, sending the captain stumbling, giving him the opportunity to hit him hard in the chest, knocking him back to the ground. Sally cheered, clapping with the teddy bear in her lap as Castis helped the younger turian to his feet, clapping the man on the shoulder.

"Nice try, Corvec. You'll get me next time," Castis said, getting a snort from the other turian.

Sally slid off the table, scurrying through the crowd to tug on the referee's armor, "my turn, my turn!" she said, grinning from ear to ear.

The Captain shook his head, "sorry tiny human, but this is for soldiers only. Adult soldiers."

Sally huffed, pouting up at the man as he called the next two into the ring.

"You better move, kid, or you're going to get hurt," the captain said, giving her a harsh but gentle push toward the outside of the ring. 

She huffed, turning and giving the captain a swift kick in the shin. He yelped, glaring at the child as she glared back, "I wanna play too!"

"I already told you, kid. No!" the captain growled, pointing outside of the ring, "I won't take responsibility for you getting hurt. Now get out of the sparring ring."

Sally scrunched up her face in anger, flopping down onto her butt as she glared defiantly at the turian, "no!"

The captain growled as the other soldiers around them laughed.

"What's wrong, Captain Barntax? Can't beat a little human?" one of the soldiers joked.

"But it's so tiny, how could you not?" another said, adding to the laughter.

"I'll get her," Castis said, chuckling along with them, "come on, Sally."

Sally huffed, folding her arms over her chest as she glared at him, "no. It's the principle of the thing," she said, being as stubborn as a rock. 

"Why not let the kid try her hand if she wants to... 'play' so bad," Seran said, moving through the group as they parted for him.

Castis frowned at the other turian, narrowing his eyes at the man before picking Sally up, getting a loud complaint from the child, "it's about time to get this little one to bed."

Seran sneered at Castis as he carried the little girl away. 

* * *

Castis sighed as he set the little girl down, rubbing at his eyes and sitting down in his chair with a grunt, "Spirits I'm getting too old," he grumbled, leaning his temple against his fist as the little girl crawled up into his lap, playing with the strange animal toy Corinthus had given her. He stroked her hair, feeling tired from dealing with the child, the war, and the other turians rude snarky comments about having a human child on board. He sighed again, closing his eyes for a second before his comm rang in. He lifted his head, tapping on the keypad before a vid of a female turian appeared. "Lucidia, my love."

"Castis, you look tired," she said, tilting her head at the human in his lap, "is that... the child?"

Castis nodded, lifting her slightly more into his lap, "Lucidia, this is Sally. Sally, this is my wife Lucidia."

"Oh, Castis. She's precious!" Lucidia gleaned, smiling at the little girl.

Sally lifted the teddy bear toward the vid, "this is Lieutenant Tickle face," she said, patting the bear's head, "he's my best friend."

Lucidia chuckled, "hello Lieutenant," Lucidia looked at Castis, her eyes telling him that she was in love with the little creature. 

Castis gave a nod, leaning to look at the child, "Sally, would you like to live with us as your mommy and daddy?"

Sally blinked up at him with those big blue eyes, "you would be my daddy?"

Castis nodded, "only if you want me to be."

Sally grinned at him so brightly, it was as if the sun was shining through. She crawled to her feet, giving him an unstable hug as she giggled.

"I'll take that as a yes," he said, chuckling at her excitement.

She turned to face the vid, grinning at the woman, "and you're gonna be my new mommy?"

Lucidia nodded, "of course. I can't wait to see you, Solana."

Sally giggled, crawling clumsily down from Castis's and running to the bed to grab the blanket. 

"Solana, huh?" he asked, getting a shrug from his wife.

"I thought she looked like a Solana and she'll never be accepted as a turian if she has a human name," Lucidia explained, smiling as Sally crawled back up into Castis's lap, wrapped in the blanket from the bed, "she's so adorable, Castis. I really can't wait to meet her."

Castis nodded, holding the little girl as she curled up, yawning and looking more tired, "I better get her to bed, my love. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Sounds good. I love you, Castis."

"I love you too, Lucidia."

He lifted the little girl from his lap, carrying her to the bed and laying her down. He gently patted her shoulder, letting out a sigh before sitting on the edge of the bed, "I have a feeling you're going to be trouble while growing up."

* * *

Casus stirred the food, concentrating so hard on what he was doing, he didn't notice the pair of big blue eyes staring at him over the edge of the counter. He sauteed the vegetables, throwing a little oil on them before blinking at Solana staring at him. His mandibles tightened against his jaw as his eyes narrowed at the child, "what?" he growled. 

The eyes disappeared from the other side of the counter, reappearing a few seconds later with arms holding a strange stuffed animal on the child's head, "Lieutenant Tickle face wants to watch."

Casus snorted, stirring the pan, "no."

She blinked, lowering the teddy bear from her head and setting it on the counter, facing Casus. 

Casus gave a growly sigh, glaring at the bear, "I said no. Now get that thing off my counter before whatever diseases it's carrying infest my food."

She shuffled around the counter, dragging a chair across the floor to the end of the counter. A few of the turians paused what they were doing, curious about the child as she clumsily clambered up onto the chair and leaning on the counter, "I wanna help, please."

Casus glared at her, glancing at the small groups of turians that were lounging around the mess hall as they tried to pretend they weren't paying attention, "no. You'll just get in the way. Go away, kid."

Solana huffed at him, puffing up her cheeks as she glared back, "I wanna help and I'm gunna because I said so," she said, folding her arms over her tiny chest. 

He had to admit, she had guts... and was cute for a tiny alien. He let out a long sigh, rubbing the back of his neck as he muttered under his breath, shifting the chair she was standing on. She lost her balance, grabbing onto his arm to keep from falling off the chair. She looked up at him as he moved the chair, putting it close enough that he could keep an eye on her but far enough away from the stove so she didn't get burnt. "There... now..." he looked at the ingredients, setting what looked like lettuce on the counter in front of her, "peel this all the way down. Don't eat it."

Solana squealed excitedly and clapped her hands, "mmkay!" she said, starting to peel the lettuce thing. 

Casus sighed, shaking his head as he went back to cooking on the stove. 

Tarnivus walked from the medical bay, shaking his head as he read over the reports before catching sight of the little girl helping the cook. He started for them, smiling at the little girl as she peeled the vegetable, "well, well. Looks like Casus is putting you to work."

She gave him a grin, holding up a piece of the veggie, "I'm peeling Lettuce!" she said, going back to what she was doing.

"It's not lettuce. I don't even know what lettuce is," Casus grumbled, tapping the spoon on the rim of the pot, "Food's ready!" he called, bringing the turians within earshot to line up in front of him. 

"I'm assuming it's a vegetable that humans eat," Tarnivus said, gently taking a piece of the vegetable from her, "I would not suggest eating this, little one. It could make you very, very sick."

Solana nodded, giving the soldiers in line a grin as they got their meals, "enjoy your food."

A couple of the soldiers gave her wary looks while others nodded or smiled back before moving to one of the tables. 

"And how is our little human mascot doing today?" the General asked, getting salutes from the soldiers that passed.

Solana frowned, "I'm not a mascot," she grumbled, giving the old turian a glare.

The general laughed, "she's got spirit. I'll give her that," he said, patting her on the head, "what's for mealtime, Casus?"

"Crovenick Stew," Casus said, dishing out a bowl for the general.

"Mmm smells good," the general said, taking a test bite. 

"I want some too," Solana whined, giving Casus big pleading eyes.

He shook his head, "you can't eat this," he said, lifting a plate from the other side of the stove and setting it in front of her on the counter, "Castis said that humans eat these. They weren't difficult to make but..."

"Pancakes!" Solana squealed happily, giving the turian cook a hug that surprised him, "thank you Mr. Casus."

Casus huffed, waving her away, "yeah, yeah. Just get off my back and take your infested fluffy toy with you."

Solana snagged the teddy bear from the counter, tucking it under her arm as she crawled down from the chair and carried her plate to the table with the most turians. She sat down in a chair, kicking her feet and ignoring the confused and curious glances as she started to eat. She hummed happily to herself, pretending to feed the bear before eating the bite, "it's really good, isn't it lieutenant tickle face?"

A couple of the turians at the table chuckled, finding her interaction with an inanimate object both cute and fascinating.

* * *

"Solana, huh? That's a good name for her," Vana said as she walked from the debriefing with Castis.

"Lucidia thought so too and it seems to fit her quite well," Castis said, stepping off the elevator. His head snapped around at the sound of screaming, instantly sending him into a panic as he and Vana rushed toward the screaming. The doors of the sparring room slid open as a turian stumbled out, falling to the ground his hand over his heart. 

"The humans... it... got me..." he gasped, falling still as a little figure wearing a helmet too big and shaped wrong for her head stepped out, holding what looked like a pipe like a gun.

"I win!" she announced, squeaking a piece of paper poked her in the back. She dramatically stumbled around, falling to the ground in the throws of "death" before falling still on the floor.

Castis glanced at Vana, who was holding in a laugh at the scene as two turians stepped out.

"Mission complete. The human menace is no more," one of the turians said into his comm.

"Too bad we lost Vate. He was a good soldier," the other turian said.

They were still and quiet for a few moments before the turian on the ground, Vate, sat up, chuckling, "not bad for a little human."

"Shh!" Solana hissed in the helmet, "I'm dead. Dead people don't talk."

Vate stood, shaking his head as he picked her up, surprised at her commitment as she hung limp in his hands, "alright. Time for my guard duty. I'm going to need my helmet back."

Solana whined as he removed it from her head, leaving her hair sticking up at odd angles, "but I wanted to play space soldier."

Vate chuckled, setting her down and laying his hand on her head, "maybe later we'll play, okay?"

Solana nodded, "okay."

The other two patted her on the head as they moved past, heading to their stations. 

"You seem to be making friends," Vana said, getting a squeal of excitement as Solana threw herself at the woman, hugging her tight.

"I'm making lots of friends," Solana said, naming off all the soldiers she had had interactions with that day as they walked into the mess hall.


	5. Without Daddy...

Solana peeked around a corner, covering her mouth to keep from giggling as the general stalked toward her from the cockpit, tapping on a datapad as two other turians followed.

"We're almost through the perimeter of Shanxi, General, but the human soldiers are proving to be a problem," a turian with white markings said, taking back the datapad from the general.

"Keep pushing that line. Do whatever it takes to break through it," the general ordered, looking at the other one, "send down Darwin team, if you have to. I want that Relay before tonight!"

"Sir!" both turians said, breaking off from the general to carry out his orders. 

Solana hurried forward as the general leaned over one of the consoles, checking the data before nodding. She jumped up with her hands in the air, "Boo!"

The turian next to him gasped, surprised by the child before scowling her. 

The general chuckled, looking at the other turian, "what's wrong, Sargent? Scared of a little human?"

The Sargent huffed at the general as he picked Solana up, "sir, I don't think it's wise to have a human, no matter how small it is, on the ship."

The general rolls his eyes, "this is my ship, Sargent, and I will have whoever, and whatever, I want on _MY_ ship. That includes this little creature," the general growled, pointing at the screens, "now back to work. This war isn't going to win itself." He tucked Solana under his arm like a football and carried her toward the elevator as she giggled. He let out a sigh as the elevator doors closed, holding her out in front of him and tilting his head, "now what were you doing on the command deck?"

Solana chewed on her fingernail as she blinked at him, "I wanted to scare you," she said, giving him a grin, "I scared the Sargent."

The general chuckled, "that you did, little one," he said, setting her on the floor and holding her hand as the doors opened, "let's go find Lieutenant Vakarian before you run into someone that really hates humans."

Solana skipped beside him as he made his way into the mess hall. She broke away from him, scurrying to crawl up into Vate's lap. 

The general watched the soldiers interact with the child, partially ignoring her as she sat contently in one's lap, smiling at their conversation. He spotted Castis as the man entered the mess hall, glaring at the datapad in his hand, "Vakarian," the general boomed, bringing the turian's eyes up to him.

"General, sir. I was just about to submit those reports you wanted," Castis said, handing the general the datapad.

The General nodded, "right. I'll review these in a moment. For now, you and your team are heading down to the planet's surface. Be ready for anything."

Castis nodded, giving the general a salute before the general left. Castis sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he watched Solana. He felt nervous about leaving her alone when at least half of the crew didn't want her there and expressed an almost hate of her and with Vana already on the planet's surface, he couldn't ask her to keep an eye on the child. He sighed again, moving to the table as she lifted Vate's hand, narrowing her eyes at his palm before glaring down at her own.

"Why do you have three fingers?" she asked, getting a shrug from the turian.

"I don't know. Why do humans have five fingers?" Vate asked the little girl, getting a shrug in reply from her.

"Because we're awesome," the little girl said, getting a snort from the turian across the table. 

"Humans aren't awesome. The only reason you're a blip on the galactic radar is because of the Mass relay," the turian growled, getting a glare from Castis and Vate.

"Your face is a mass relay," the little girl shot back, getting a coughing chuckle from the third turian sitting at the table. 

"That doesn't even make sense," the turian growled back, his mandibles pushing out away from his face in annoyance, "humans are so annoying."

Solana stuck her tongue out at the turian as he glared at her, getting chuckles from the others at the table. 

"Solana," Castis said, his voice bringing her attention up to him, "come with me, little one."

She slid off Vate's lap, taking Castis's hand and walking happily beside him as he led her back to his room.

"Solana, sweetie. I'm going down to the planet's surface. I shouldn't be gone more than a day or two," he said, kneeling in front of her as she gave him big sad eyes, "I want you to stay in this room, okay? It's safer for you that way."

"But what if you don't come back?" Solana asked, her voice crackling.

"I will come back," he said, brushing a strand of loose hair away from the little girl's forehead, "I promise."

Solana sniffled, moving to lean into his chest and hug him as he hugged her back.

* * *

She sniffled as she sat up in bed, Castis's chair being empty making her hiccup sob as she crawled out of bed. _He said I shouldn't leave but I had a bad dream,_ she thought, shuffling from the bedroom and down the hallway to the crew's quarters. The door slid apart with an almost too loud in the night whoosh. She sniffled, shuffling to the side of Corinthus's bed and poking his shoulder. 

The turian groaned, slowly rolling over to look at her with one emerald eye open, "Solana, what're you doing up? It's bedtime," he yawned.

"I can't sleep," she whimpered, hugging the teddy bear in her arms, "can I sleep with you?"

Corinthus yawned again, his tongue curling between sharp teeth as he rolled onto his side, pulling the blanket back, "alright, but go right to sleep."

She scurried up into the bed with him, snuggling under the blanket as she held the teddy bear close to her chest. Corinthus draped the blanket and his arm over the little girl, his eyes instantly closing as she lay staring across from the bed at the turian sleeping in one of the other beds.

"When will daddy come back?" she asked, getting a tired sigh from the turian.

"Soon, Solana. Now please go to sleep," he said, starting to fall back into the depths of sleep.

"Tomorrow?" she asked, her voice bringing him back to the surface of sleep with an annoyed huff.

"No, not tomorrow, but soon, alright. Now please, I'm begging you, go to sleep," he said, his voice holding more of an edge than it usually did when he was talking with the child, but it was late and he was tired.

She sighed, shifting more under the blanket as she slowly closed her eyes. _I hope daddy comes back soon, _she thought, yawning before sleep took her.

* * *

The turian soldiers on the ship did a fairly good job keeping the girl occupied while Castis was down on the planet, playing games with her to keep her moving and her mind occupied. The general thought it a great idea to use the playing as a way to study the child and assess her skills as a combatant. Unfortunately, human children get hurt easily, but they seemed to bounce back from minor injuries. It wasn't until she fell and scraped her knee while running away from a couple of the soldiers. She sat up, whimpering and starting to sob as blood beaded in the scrape. The soldiers stood around her, confused as to why after, bumping into walls, doors, other turians, and falling down most of the day, a little scrape on the knee would hurt her so badly to make her cry. The general moved through the group of soldiers, waving them away as he knelt in front of her.

"Awww, what happened little one?" he asked, getting a sniffle from the little girl as she sobbed out a response.

"I *sob* fell *sob* and *sob* scraped *sob* my *sob* knee *sob*."

He smiled at her, picking the little girl up as he stood, "well. I guess you need to go to the infirmary then, huh?"

She sniffled, nodding her head as he held her on his hip and carried her up the elevator and into the infirmary. Tarnivus raised his attention from the soldier he was working on, giving the general a nod before going back to wrapping the soldier's wound with medical gauze. The general moved to set her down on one of the medical exam tables, wiping away her tears as she frowned down at the scrape. Tarnivus finished up with the soldier, getting to his feet as he told the turian to change the bandages every twelve hours. He then moved to stand beside the exam table, looking Solana over with narrowed eyes.

"So, what trouble has she caused this time?" he said, moving to replace the general as the officer moved away from her.

Solana lifted her leg, showing him the scrape on her knee, "I got hurt," she sniffled.

Tarnivus sighed, shaking his head as he reached into a cabinet, pulling some gauze from the shelf and looking at her, "how did you get that?"

Solana sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand, "I was running away from the alien invaders and I fell and scraped my knee."

Tarnivus shook his head, wrapping the gauze around her little leg before making sure it was secure, "if this is what stops a human, then we should just make them trip and scrape their knees," he muttered, getting a sigh from the general.

"Unfortunately, the humans we face are made of sturdier stuff than the child," the general said, folding his arms over his chest, "but he does have a point." The general turned his eyes to the child, "that said child if you wish to remain on this ship and to be raised as a turian, you will have to be a lot tougher than you are. A scrape on the knee cannot stop you from doing what must be done for the good of the species. Do you understand?"

His voice was gentle but his words were heavy and made her lower her chin to her chest, "yes sir."

The general nodded, stepping forward to help her down from the table before nodding toward the door, "now, go finish killing those alien invaders," he put his fist hard against his chest, "for the good of the species!"

Solana kept her face straight, smacking her small fist against her chest, "for the good of the species!" she exclaimed before hurrying from the medical bay to the sound of Tarnivus and the general chuckling.

* * *

Three days went on like that. The soldiers and crew members on the ship would do what they could to keep the little girl from thinking about Castis. The best thing they could think to do to keep her occupied was to put the child on a schedule of sorts. After breakfast, she would help Corinthus in the cargo hold, climbing onto high shelves to count the items there and into tight spaces to count the items behind the larger crates before shouting out those numbers for him to record. Once that was finished, usually, around lunchtime, she would hurry to help Casus with the meal, tearing apart different vegetables for the turian to cook up before serving the hungry soldiers with a grin. Casus, having started to study human food, usually made Solana something small for her to eat after helping him clean up, the two starting to become bonded so much that he thought of her as his own family. After lunch, she would play war with the soldiers, using a small pistol loaded with blanks in her battles. Sometimes her team won, other times, they lost, falling dramatically to the ground as if really shot down in combat. After several hours of "playing", the soldiers would have to get back to what they were supposed to be doing, leaving her to wander around the ship, usually finding her way to the medical bay where she helped Tarnivus organize his supplies or learned how to wrap an injury, or she would head up to the command deck, watching the soldiers that worked on the computers or kept an eye on the controls and meters for the ships. Some would even let her sit on their lap as they explained what the meters and levels were saying, even allowing her to push a button or two if they needed to. Then dinner would come and it would be time for her to help Casus again. She loved being on the ship, becoming comfortable with the crew and soldiers, even ignoring the ones that didn't like humans or completely avoiding them when she can. 

Finally, Castis came back from his mission, shuffling to his room with a tired sigh before falling into bed with a grunt. He closed his eyes for a few moments, opening them a slit to look at the stuffed teddy bear laying on the pillow next to his head. He picked up the teddy bear, rolling onto his back as he looked at the small stuffed animal. _I wonder where Solana got to,_ he thought, giving a growly sigh as he sat up, pushing to his feet and leaving the room. He made his way down the hallway, heading for the medical bay where Tarnivus was writing up his report for the general.

The turian lifted his gaze from the datapad in his hand, smiling at Castis, "you're back. The child will be pleased."

"I'm sure. Speaking of, have you seen her around? I haven't even heard her since arriving back on the ship," Castis said, getting a nod from the medic.

"Try the command deck. The general and crew have put her on a sort of schedule while you were gone. She's usually up there around this time," Tarnivus said, going back to his report.

"Thanks," Castis said, heading for the elevator. He stepped off the elevator, moving through the deck, as he scanned and listened for Solana's voice. He finally made it to the cockpit, blinking in surprise at Solana sitting on the pilot's lap, tapping the buttons and pushing the levers that he pointed at. He felt both relief and pride as he watched the human child pilot the ship, her entire focus taken up by the task. He leaned against the wall, watching her look up at the screen as the pilot pointed out a few numbers.

"Now, those numbers say we're moving too much to starboard. What do we have to do?" the turian asked the child, leaning to watch her tap a few buttons before taking the steering wheel and turning it slightly before straightening it. The pilot gave a nod, "very good. You're a natural."

Solana grinned, bouncing happily in the turian's lap as she kicked her feet, watching the screens in front of her. 

"You've been busy," Casits said, watching the little girl lean around the pilot's chair before her face lit up. 

"Daddy!" she squealed, scrambling down from the pilot's lap and scurrying to Castis, giggling happily as the soldier lifted the child into his arms, hugging her tightly as she hugged him, "I'm learning how to pilot the ship." She beamed proudly, puffing out her chest with a grin.

"I can see that," he said, carrying her through the command deck on his hip, "I missed you, Solana."

She smiled at him, "I missed you too," she said, kicking her feet as they boarded the elevator.

"So, what sort of schedule do you have?" he asked, curious as to what the crew had a tiny human doing.

Solana grinned, "I help Casus cook and Tarnivus in the medical bay and the general on the command deck and I get to play soldier every day!"

Castis nodded, "that sounds like quite a schedule."

"Yes, and you're making me fall behind," she complained as the elevator doors opened.

"Oh. Excuse me," he said, chuckling as he put her down, watching her hurry to Casus as the turian started pulling ingredients from the cabinet. 

She pulled a chair to the end of the counter, scrambling onto it as Casus placed a vegetable in front of her, telling her what to do with it while he started on something on the stovetop. Castis swelled with pride, watching the little girl as she worked alongside the cook, making the meal for the crew. The human child. His human child. His daughter. Solana Vakarian. 


	6. Traveling Home

The negotiations between the council and human political powers went better than expected, resulting in only a little over a hundred casualties on both sides and peace between the humans and the turians. For the time being, anyway. The turian fleet prepared to venture home, the crew aboard excited to head home after being gone for several months and take some shore leave. Solana ran through the ship, the excitement of the crew adding to the already over-energized child, sending her into a hyperactive tizzy.

"Solana!" Vana called as the little girl ran past the crew's quarters.

Solana paused, shuffling back to blink at the woman before grinning and skipping to the woman, crawling up on the bed to sit beside her.

"Are you ready to go to Palaven?" Vana asked, folding an article of clothing and putting it in her bag.

"Yeah! I can't wait to meet my new mommy!" she said excitedly, kicking her feet as she rocked from side to side where she sat.

Vana chuckled, closing the bag and setting it beside her bunk, "and Lucidia will be excited to see you," she said, glancing up at the door as the general walked by, "General, sir. I have something I need to discuss with you."

Solana gave the General a grin and a wave as he stopped, getting a wave back from the important man.

"Of course, Sargent. Please," he said, motioning in the direction he was walking.

"Don't get into too much trouble, Sola," the female turian said, patting Solana on the head before joining the general.

Solana sighed, sliding off the bed and heading for the mess hall, where she was supposed to help Casus with lunch. She skipped down the hall, giving passing soldiers smiles and waves as they greeted her, the child now a part of the crew as if she had never been human. She rounded a corner, bumping into someone's legs before stumbling back a couple of steps before looking up, her eyes going wide as Saren glared down at her, his mandibles tight against his mouth. She forced a smile, giving a squeak as the turian picked her up by the back of her clothes, lifting her off the ground and holding her at eye level. 

"I don't know why the General is allowing such a pathetic creature to return with the crew back to Palaven," he growled, holding her close enough for her nose to almost touch his. The cold anger in his eyes sent a chill down her spine and made her wish that someone, anyone, would come along to make the scary alien go away. "You may be accepted by the members of this crew, but you will _NEVER_ be accepted by anyone else on Palaven."

Her eyes burned, his image blurring as she sniffled.

"I should save my homeworld the trouble and just toss you out the airlock before you can spread any diseases you disgusting life forms have," he growled, glancing toward the airlock that was across the hallway from where he held her. "Perhaps I will."

She sobbed as he carried her to the airlock, slapping his hand against the button on the wall to open the first door before tossing her in. She scrambled to her feet, stumbling to the door as it slid closed. She shouted and screamed, beating her small fists against the window. He reached up to hit the eject button...

"Saren," Tarnivus called to the Specter, looking up from the datapad in his hand, "I got the results back from that examination and..." he paused, narrowing his eyes as Saren pulled his hand back against from the eject button. "What are you doing?"

Saren cleared his throat, standing straight with his shoulders back and his chin up, "just ejecting some trash into space. Anything else?"

Tarnivus stared at him as he shook his head, "no, nothing else."

"Good," Saren said before turning and walking away.

Tarnivus stared after him, thinking for a few seconds before stepping up to the window. His eyes went wide at Solana's face pressed against the glass. He smacked his hand against the button to open the door, releasing the child as she ran to him, hugging his legs tightly as she cried. He sighed, picking the child up and hugging her, trying to stop her trembling as he looked in the direction that Saren had walked off to. He took her with him to the infirmary, doing his best to figure out how to soothe the child as the rest of the ship was in a frenzy packing. He was passing the elevators as the doors opened and the General stepped out, tilting his head at Solana and Tarnivus. 

"What happened?" the General asked, his mandibles tight against his jaw. 

"I think Saren was trying to eject her into space," Tarnivus said, patting the little girl on the back. 

The General's eyes narrowed disapprovingly, the rumors of Saren trying to spread poisonous rumors around the crew about humans and especially the little human child that had been adopted by the crew. Luckily, none of those on the ship believed them. Well, they didn't believe the rumors about the child, anyway. He reached out, taking the child from the medic, giving the child's sad expression the turian's form of a smile, wiping the tears from her soft cheeks, "now, now. Is that any way for a soldier to act?" he asked, getting a sniffle in response. 

"I was scared," she sniffled, rubbing at her eyes.

The General nodded, "I understand," he said, starting for the medical bay with Tarnivus beside him, "you know, sometimes even I get scared."

Solana sniffled, looking at him with those big blue eyes, "really?"

He chuckled, "of course. Everyone gets scared every once in a while. Even a general." He set her down on one of the examination tables taking the tablet Tarnivus handed him as he looked over the medical reports and the overall health of the crew. 

The bay doors slid open as Corinthus walked in, carrying a box of medical supplies. "I found these in a back corner in the cargo bay. Thought you might want to go through them and restock while we're on our way home." He glanced at Solana, "what happened to our little human?"

Solana sniffled, reaching out for the turian, her bottom lip quivering. Corinthus sighed, moving to replace the General as he stepped to the side, giving the little girl a gentle hug.

"Saren tried to eject her into outer space," Tarnivus growled, the thought starting to grate on him. 

"Allegedly," The general corrected, scrolling through the datapad.

Tarnivus's mandibles tightened against his jaw and he growled, "allegedly," through clenched teeth.

Corinthus's eyes went wide before he lowered his eyes to the little girl clinging to him. He looked at the general, "uh... sir... I overheard Saren a few days ago talking about 'getting rid of that human parasite'."

The General paused his scrolling, looking at Corinthus with narrowed eyes, "that's some accusation, recruit. What evidence do you have to support this?"

Corinthus lowered his eyes, "none, sir. Just what I overheard."

"Then there's nothing that can be done about it," the general said matter-of-factly. 

"But, General!" Tarnivus protested, getting cut off.

"Enough, Tarnivus," the general growled, giving the doctor a glare, silencing the man's protests. "I want to do something about it as much as anyone else would, but there are protocols and ways to go about doing that. All of which would require evidence that none of us have."

"Aren't there cameras along that hallway?" Corinthus asked, tilting his head.

The General thought about that for a moment before nodding, "there are..." he paused, lost in thought for a few moments before nodding again, "very well. I will check the security cameras. Hopefully, we caught him in the act. I hope this will go on his record to keep him from becoming a Specter." The general turned, handing the datapad back to Tarnivus before leaving the medical bay. 

Corinthus gave Solana a turian's smile, his mandibles lowering slightly to form it, "there, see? The bad man can't get you now," he said, wiping away the last of her tears, "do you want to help me clear out the cargo hold?"

Solana sniffled, nodding her head as she rubbed her eyes.

"Alright. Let's go," he said, picking her up and starting for the door.

"Keep an eye on her, Corinthus. Who knows what Saren will do to her if he gets his claws on her again," Tarnivus said, unpacking the medical supplies from the box.

* * *

Corinthus spent some time trying to cheer her up, admittedly shirking his duties to clean up the cargo hold to play with the child. After several attempts, he resorted to tickling her, which got the result he was looking for. She giggled and squirmed away from him, sliding off the desk and scurrying away from him to hide among the cargo. He chuckled, slowly pushing his way through the cargo. "Now... where did that human go?" he asked aloud, drawing out the words as he pushed the cargo around, both organizing it and playing hide and seek with the girl. 

Solana covered her mouth with her hand, giggling into it as he got closer. 

"Solaaaaaanaaaaa," he purred, leaning around the crates, "wheeeere aaaaaare yooooooooooou?"

She slowly crawled out from one of the crates, rising up to peek over the crate. She blinked a few times when she couldn't see or hear him, slowly stepping out from behind the crate. For a few seconds, she felt fear. She was alone. She had never noticed how creepy the cargo hold was when it was just her. She was scared. Then, someone grabbed her from behind, lifting her up as he roared in triumph. She squealed and giggled, turning in his hands to wrap her arms around his neck as he brought her down to his chest.

"There's a smile," he said, clicking his mandibles happily. "You ready to help me out here?"

She grinned at him, nodding enthusiastically as he put her down.

"Then we'll go to dinner," he said, snagging the datapad on his desk and starting to scroll through, checking off items as Solana tried to push some of the crates to the sides. He watched her try to shove a crate five times her size. His eyes narrowed in a smile at her failing efforts before he stepped forward, putting his hands against the crate to help.

"No!" she yipped, smacking at his leg, "I can do it myself!"

He chuckled, raising his hands as he stepped back, watching the child with amused eyes as she pushed and pushed and pushed at the crate. The sound of the elevator doors sliding apart brought his attention to Castis and Sparatus as they wandered toward him. Castis tilted his head, looking at Solana as she tried to push the crate, before glancing at Sparatus with amused eyes. He nodded to the crate, the two walking past it as if they hadn't noticed before slipping behind the crate. They took hold of the crate, waiting for her to give a grunt before pulling back on the crate, sliding it back toward them.

She gave a surprised yelp, shuffling back a step to stare at the crate with wide, confused eyes before furrowing her brows and running forward, shoving all of her body weight into the crate. 

They pulled again, almost crushing themselves with the crate before climbing up onto the top of the one behind them, pulling the crate the rest of the way against the other one. She stood back, frowning at the crate as Corinthus praised her for her hard work. She narrowed her eyes, walking around the crates to make sure they were close together as Castis and Sparatus looked down at her from the tops of the crates. She snorted, glaring at the crates for a few more seconds before Corinthus called her away. 

"I'd say that was worth the pinched toes," Sparatus said as the two hopped off the crates.

Castis chuckled, "I think she knew there was something strange about it, though."

Sparatus nodded, watching the little human help the quartermaster with his inventory for a few moments, "you do realize how adopting a human child so soon after the first contact war will look, right?"

Castis nodded, "I'm aware. They will assume I'm taking her in as a charity case to clear my conscious of what I did during the war. Both humans and turians will think that."

"And the truth?" Sparatus asked, his mandibles tight against his mouth.

Castis shrugged, "she has nobody else and I don't trust her own kind to take care of her. Especially after the incident with the human in the med-bay."

Sparatus stared at Castis for a few moments, his eyes narrowed as he studied the other turian before sighing, "just be careful, Castis. She may be small and harmless now, but who knows how she will be once she's an adult."

Castis's mandibles lowered slightly, "that's why she will be raised turian. I will maintain some of the human customs for her sake so she remembers where she comes from and may eventually return to her people, should she decide it, but I am not going to just dump her back with her species."

"I don't think she will have a problem forgetting she's human," Sparatus said, watching Solana and Corinthus board the elevator as he chuckled, "it's strange. When you first brought the child on board, I thought you were insane, and our general more so for allowing it," he paused, lowering his eyes to the floor, "but now, I fear for her safety. Our people will hold a grudge against humans for a long time. Some of the children of the soldiers will poison their children's thoughts against humans. It will be hard for her to live on Palaven. Incidentally, have you figured out how she was going to walk around the planet's surface?"

Castis shook his head, "I plan to use a radiation-resistant suit and wrap her in it until we can get her one that fits."

Sparatus patted Castis on the shoulder, "I wish you luck, my friend. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask me or Velna."

Castis nodded, "thank you. I will remember that."

* * *

Solana sat on the pilot's lap, pushing the buttons and sliding the displays in and out, searching the galaxy interface for her new home. The pilot reached out, pulling the galaxy in toward them and pointing at a planet with two moons.

"See that, Solana? That's Palaven. Home," he sighed, making the image bigger for her to see.

She leaned forward, her big blue eyes wide as she reached out to grab one of the moons, her hand going through it as it would a hologram.

He pointed at a spot on the large planet's surface, "tap on that and we'll set a course for the capital, Cipritine."

Solana reached forward, poking the spot the pilot showed her before watching the galaxy zoom out, showing their position and the position of where they were traveling along with an estimated time of arrival.

"And that's that. We'll be home soon," the pilot said with a yawn, leaning back in his chair with his head on his fist as he watched Solana adjusting their trajectory, "course set for home, sir. Our little pilot is adjusting our trajectory as we speak so we land perfectly."

"Excellent. Send her up to me at once. There's something I have to give her before we get planetside," the general's voice said in the pilot's ear before clicking off.

The pilot nodded, sitting up as he tapped Solana on the shoulder, "the general needs to see you, Sol. You'd best not keep him waiting."

Solana slid to the floor, hurrying through the command deck and onto the elevators. She pushed the button for the General's quarters, rocking back and forth on her toes as she waited for the doors to open. The doors slid apart and she skipped to the general's quarters, knocking on the door as she waited. She hummed to herself, waiting for the door to open and when it did, she gave the general a big grin before standing at attention. She put her heels together, stood straight, and raised her hand to her brow, "reporting for duty, sir!"

The general nodded, "at ease, soldier," he said, motioning her to follow him, "while the crew has been preparing, some have taken it upon themselves to find an enviro-suit that's small enough and protective enough for you to wear."

Solana followed, looking curiously around the room at all the stuff that the general had decorating his desk, shelves, and tables. She crawled onto the couch, happily kicking her feet as she looked at the starship sitting in the center of the table. "What's that?" she asked, pointing at the model ship.

The General looked over his shoulder at her, pausing his rumaging for a moment, "that is the THS Vanker. It's a light cruiser that was destroyed during the middle of this war with humans," he said, seeming to forget for a moment that she was a human. He pulled out a small enviro-suit and helmet, narrowing his eyes at it as he checked over the arms and legs of the suit for holes or tears. 

"What's that?" Solana asked, pointing at a gun on the wall.

"That is the first assault rifle I was given as a recruit. I hung it on the wall to remind me of the hard work it took to become a general and how I started," he said, seeming satisfied with the suit before going to her, "now..."

"What's that?" she asked, pointing at a helmet sitting on his desk.

"My combat helmet," he said simply, his eyes amused at how curious she was, "enough questions. I want you to try this on to see if it will fit."

She blinked at the suit with big blue eyes, "then can I ask questions?" she asked.

He chuckled and nodded, "I'll give you the grand tour. Now, put this on."

She took the suit, the material was thick and a little heavy but also soft and smooth to the touch. She grinned at the bright yellow color, hurrying to pull the shirt she used as a dress off.

The General cleared his throat, helping her pull the shirt off and placing it on the table as she tried to pull the suit on. He chuckled, showing her the zipper on the back and helping her into it. Once it was zipped, he had her run around the room a couple of times, making sure she could move in it before helping her put the helmet on. Once it was on, he checked the edges of the helmet and the seems, making sure she could breathe properly before giving the suit the okay with a nod, "looks good. This, little one, is what you're going to be wearing on your new home."

"I'm a space man!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms into the air and making the general chuckle.

He placed his hand on her helmet, giving the small human smiling eyes before motioning to the elevators, "go on, now. I know you want to show off your new enviro-suit."

She giggled and wiggled excitedly, hurrying from the room.

He sighed and shook his head, chuckling at the child's excitement before the doors opened again. He blinked at the child as she ran back in, almost knocking him over with a tackle hug as she squealed excitedly. 

"Thank you General sir!" she squealed, hurrying once again from the room to the sound of the general's laughter. She ran from the elevators once it hit the crew deck, dodging past the soldiers and crewmen and running straight for the medical bay. 

Tarnivus looked up from the box he was going through, chuckling at the child as she climbed onto one of the tables, "what are you doing?"

"I'm a space man!" she exclaimed as she did with the General, lifting her arms into the air as she did. The doors of the medical bay slid open and she turned, pointing her finger at Vate, "freeze alien scum!"

Vate blinked in surprise at the child before chuckling, placing the box down and holding up his hands, "I surrender. Please don't hurt me."

Solana scurried from the table, resuming her finger gun as she approached Vate, "on your knees, now!"

Vate watched her with amused eyes, lowering himself to his knees, "what now?"

Solana sighed, "you're supposed to be scared. I'm invading. You don't know how to play right," she complained.

Tarnivus chuckled, placing supplies on shelves, "Solana, Turians are not supposed to surrender. We always go down fighting no matter what."

"Ooooh," she breathed, looking at Vate, "then you die now, Turian pretender. BANG BANG BANG!"

Vate gasped, putting his hand to his chest and falling flat on his face with a thunk. 

Tarnivus laughed, patting the child on her helmeted head as he passed, "you'll make a great Turian, Solana."

She beamed at this, though the only thing they could see was her excited wiggly dance, "I'm going to show daddy my evinro suit!" she said, running from the room before Tarnivus could correct her.

Vate got up with a sigh, glancing at the door, "you really think she'll make a good turian?"

Tarnivus shrugged, "she may become a better turian than the rest of us. I'm more worried about her getting a chance to be a Turian. She won't survive long otherwise."


End file.
